New York Air National Guard has begun operating a ski-equipped LC-130H Hercules with new Hamilton Sundstrand NP2000 propellers, the first of 12 to be retrofitted. Flight tests of the eight-blade composite propellers were conducted earlier this year on a Wyoming ANG C-130, demonstrating increased performance and reduced noise, vibration and fuel consumption. The LC-130 is scheduled to fly in November to Antarctica, where the new propellers are expected to eliminate the need to use JATO rockets for takeoff from ice- and snow-covered runways.
The FAA has issued an airworthiness directive calling for inspections of the aft left and right engine mount support fittings on Boeing MD-90-30 jets after the agency received reports that a number of airplanes had loose, cracked or missing fasteners. The jets had accumulated between 18,767 and 25,400 flight hours and 15,841-27,000 flight cycles. The FAA says the faulty condition could lead to separation of the fittings from the pylon, possibly resulting in separation of the engine from the airframe. Inspections must be accomplished within 703 flight cycles after Sept.
Officials at United Arab Emirates airline Etihad say the carrier is on track to carry about 6 million passengers in 2008 and already has flown 4 million people this year. In addition, the airline projects it will fly 25 million passengers to 100 destinations by 2020—double the current number. It also aims to expand its workforce to 27,000 during the next 12 years from the current 6,600 employees. The carrier, which placed an order for 100 Boeing and Airbus jets in July, is “an economic and tourism powerhouse,” says James Hogan, chief executive officer.
Airbus is about to start flight trials on two potential upgrades for its A320 family, both promising to deliver significant fuel-efficiency improvements.
At 50, NASA is embarking on a bold new effort to send humans back to the Moon and on to Mars, dropping the space shuttle for an “Apollo-on-steroids” approach that applies the latest technology to a modular architecture reminiscent of the agency’s first lunar expeditions. But in an election year, with a war on and the economy in turmoil, all bets are off for now. Regardless of who is elected to the White House and Congress, Administrator Michael Griffin believes NASA has gone too far down the path outlined in President Bush’s Vision for Space Exploration to turn back.
On Sept. 23, the FAA accepted a plan from Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines to transition to a single operating certificate as well as a plan for interim operations. According to Delta, the carriers want to make the transition during the next 15-18 months. Pilot groups met Sept. 21 to discuss combining Master Executive Councils (MEC) of both airlines—a move that would create the largest MEC in the Air Line Pilots Assn. The merged company would be called Delta, headquartered in Atlanta. A stockholders meeting to approve the merger was scheduled for Sept. 25.
Masayuki Kubo is in an enviable position for a Japanese aircraft engineer—and an unenviable one. He has been lucky enough to be chosen as Kawasaki’s chief designer in the program that has broken a three-decade drought in the development of large Japanese aircraft. But he has been perhaps too lucky, because the program made him responsible for developing not one but two large aircraft. Neither he nor his team had done even one before. Moreover, they had to develop both the XP-1 maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) and the C-X airlifter at the same time.
Andy Nativi (AFB Ysterplaat, South Africa), Douglas Barrie (London)
As Denel prepares for air-launched test shots of its A-Darter dogfight missile within the next few months, it is also considering the design as the basis of an active, radar-guided, medium-range air-to-air missile. Under the Raster program, the company’s Dynamics business is working on a sensor for both air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles based on an active radar seeker. The Raster program builds on technology developed and acquired through the R-Darter project, which was in effect a joint effort with Rafael of Israel, where the missile is known as Derby.
British Columbia-based Viking Air has rolled out its DHC-6 Twin Otter Series 400 technology demonstrator, with first flight planned for the end of October. The upgraded 19-seat utility twin-turboprop has a new Honeywell Apex glass cockpit with four liquid-crystal displays plus airframe and other improvements. The demonstrator will be used to complete certification, with customer deliveries planned to begin next summer.
The new Terminal 3 at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, scheduled to open in March 2010, will be the first facility in India to feature aerobridges in anticipation of Airbus A380 service. The terminal will have 78 of the aerobridges with six sets at two levels. In addition, the A380s will operate from Runway 11-29, which was completed six months ahead of schedule, is more than 240 ft. wide and among the longest in Asia at 14,500 ft. Airport officials say it is equipped at both ends with an instrument landing system approved for Category-3B flight operations.
The search for extraterrestrial life has been an inherent NASA mission since the earliest days of the space agency, although not part of its founding charter. Now, 50 years after NASA’s inception, the quest to find life beyond Earth has been elevated to one of the key justifications for the agency’s existence. This goal is increasingly the focal point for international cooperation. But as European, Japanese and especially Chinese space capabilities mature, new competition could arise.
The U.S. Army Research, Development & Engineering Command Acquisition Center has turned to ITT Corp. for more AN/PVS-14 night-vision monocular devices. The order is valued at $153 million and is the latest under the Omnibus VII contract awarded by the Army in September 2005, the company said on Sept. 25. The AN/PVS-14 allows users to adjust the gain control in varying light conditions.
In an article on the machinists strike against Boeing (AW&ST Sept. 15, p. 24), the name of attorney Sheryl Willert’s Seattle law firm was spelled incorrectly. It is William Kastner.
Cyril Turner has become president of Atlanta-based DAL Global Services . He was corporate vice president-capital planning and value management for Coca-Cola Enterprises.
U.K. air travel was severely disrupted Sept. 25 due to a breakdown affecting operations at the London Area Control Center. A system feeding controller workstations at the center malfunctioned, according to British air navigation service provider NATS. Airlines had to cancel a large number of flights, because NATS limited the amount of air traffic in the London Area Control sectors, as well as flights taking off from major U.K. airports. The glitch did not affect Scottish airspace, Manchester Area airspace, and Manchester and London Terminal Control, NATS said.
Eric Cardinali has been named president of Textron’s Montreal-based Bell Helicopter Canada . He succeeds Jacques St.-Laurent, who has become president of Bell Helicopter’s European operations. Cardinali was vice president-integrated supply chain.
Lockheed Martin has been tapped by the Securities and Exchange Commission to provide transition services, program management support for Server, Managed Network and End-User Computing services, as well as other infrastructure areas. The $33-million, six-year award has a potential value of $122 million if all program options are exercised. Work will be performed at the SEC Washington headquarters and the commission’s operations center in Alexandria, Va., as well as remote sites.
Sandia National Laboratories’ Responsive Neutron Generator Product Deployment Center received the Shingo Prize—an operational excellence award—for 2008, becoming the first public sector organization to do so. Shingo promotes awareness of lean concepts and recognizes companies in the U.S., Canada and Mexico that achieve world-class status in lean transformation. The prize, named for Japanese industrial engineer Shigeo Shingo, associated with the Toyota Production System, was established in 1988 at Utah State University’s John M. Hunstman School of Business.
Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority is set to start random alcohol and drug testing of the continent’s 120,000 aviation industry workers before year-end. New regulations that became effective Sept. 25 require aviation organizations, such as airlines, to establish comprehensive testing plans within six months. They would include pre-employment and post-accident testing, as well as education and rehabilitation. Flight and cabin crews, engineers, dispatchers and air traffic controllers are among those covered by the new rule.
Thales Alenia Space has begun work on a €41-million ($60-million) expansion of its main satellite facility in Cannes, France. The extension, to be finished in the second half of 2010, will add 26,000 sq. meters (280,000 sq. ft.) of office and logistics space to handle the company’s rapid growth and improve the layout of the plant, which sprawls on both sides of a main rail line through the city.
High oil prices are helping drive leading commercial airframers’ and airlines’ participation in efforts to develop alternative fuels as soon as possible. Speaking at Aviation Week’s MRO Europe 2008 Conference and Exhibition in Madrid last week, James Kinder, Boeing’s senior fuel engineer, said past company studies on alternative fuels estimated they would be competitive with jet fuel at $70-90 a barrel.
In his most detailed position yet on NASA issues, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) is signaling strong support for civil space and aeronautics spending.
Kay Weatherford (see photos) has been named vice president-revenue management and pricing, and Kathleen Wayton vice president-strategy and change leadership, of Southwest Airlines . Weatherford was senior director of revenue and traffic analysis, while Wayton was senior director of strategic planning. Bob Young has become vice president/chief technology officer.
